Cron, Marte provide spark Angels seek

The Angels were willing to sacrifice a significant amount of defense in left field because they believed their short-handed lineup would benefit from stacking two right-handed power hitters, C.J. Cron and Jefry Marte, behind Mike Trout and Albert Pujols.

The Angels were willing to sacrifice a significant amount of defense in left field because they believed their short-handed lineup would benefit from stacking two right-handed power hitters, C.J. Cron and Jefry Marte, behind Mike Trout and Albert Pujols.

Cron and Marte then combined to go 4-for-8 in a 10-2 rout over the Twins in Wednesday night's series finale, driving in five runs and scoring three times.

Cron, 6-for-25 to start the month, ripped a couple of singles and lofted a double into deep left-center field. It marked his first three-hit game since May 7, raising his slash line to a still-unspectacular .258/.313/.400.

"I'll take it," Cron said. "For sure."

Marte went 1-for-3 with a walk, keeping his batting average at .333 while starting his second game in left field -- a position he only recently began playing at in hopes of keeping his bat in the lineup.

"It's a great opportunity," Marte, who spent the season's first five weeks in Triple-A, said in Spanish. "I thank God for giving me that opportunity, for putting me on a team that wants to give me a chance to do what I love to do, which is to play baseball. I'll just try to take advantage of that opportunity; give the best I have and leave it in God's hands."

Switch-hitting left fielder Daniel Nava collected three hits for Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday night, in his fourth Minor League rehab game since landing on the disabled list for a second time. He could be activated as early as Friday, giving Angels manager Mike Scioscia an additional left-handed bat to match up against tough right-handed starters.

Nava, Cron and Marte will all probably alternate playing time.

All three of them can start at first base or at designated hitter, and two of them -- Nava and Marte -- are options in left field.

"Who's playing on this night or who's playing on that night is not going to be what's important," Scioscia said. "But over the course of a week's stretch, or a two-week stretch, to be able to match up, we're going to welcome the left-handed bat that Daniel can bring. I think it's going to help us to match up, keep some guys fresh."